I spoke to the local manager of the resolutions team here in Jacksonville on Monday and I appear to have everything resolved now. I had to swap out my cards on Tuesday due to them getting damaged (along with my TiVo which Best Buy swapped out instead of sending it out for repairs) from a lighting strike on Sunday. But hopefully swapping out the cards will not mess up the bill again. She told me that I was not going to be charged the extra outlet fee but only the $1.50 for the second cable card.
If for some reason my bill is still messed up I have her direct number and the number to reach her team instead of having to go through the regular customer service channels.

You need to work your way up the comcast food chain because that is not only BS, but probably illegal. You are being charged extra outlet fees and whatnot for services which you do not receive. At maximum, you should pay a modest (like $2.00 max, or free in my case) fee per cablecard. No other outlet or HD fees unless you are using their hardware or actually are using more than one plug in the wall. If that fails, get in touch with the FCC.

My Tivo hasn't worked properly since Comcast changed their rate structure July 1. So I made a telephone call where the tech responded that nothing could be done without a service call, and I took Tuesday off work (previous attempts to solve CC problems have never been successful on a weekend). 2 techs (dum and dummer) came and finally got to the CC diagnosis screen after I showed them how, then called in and got a hit to the cards which brought digital service back. Wednesday I again had no digital service and the phone tech tried to schedule another visit. I refused, but this morning I relented and called Comcast from work. I got what seemed to be a knowledgable person who said she hit the cards. When I got home, some of the digital channels worked and, in the final throes, I called and scheduled another tech visit for Saturday. I also called Costco and learned I can return the Tivo for a refund. The question now, is what do I do with a $300 pre-paid service contract with Tivo if I return the S3? Perhaps eat the $300 and say "lesson learned" and Comcast wins?

If you are within 30 days of activation, call TiVo right away and cancel. You'll get your money back.

Otherwise, you can alway swap a different model TiVo onto the plan.

Unfortunately, I'm beyond the 30 days and adding a non-HD TiVo to my collection of lifetime ReplayTVs and a couple Panasonic Showstoppers isn't much of a benefit. I guess it's time to bail on this and subscribe to Netflix.

But I'm sensing that there is no clearly stated pricing for CableCards. Has anyone gotten a definitive answer on this, or is it a case of every office for themselves?

See my post #2873, I quoted directly from their site, or read it from their site directly. But the disclaimer shows that YMMV, as it can vary from office to office. You should get one card for free, and the second card in each S3 for a small fee ("up to $1.91").

oldnacl, see my previous post #2831 ...I suspect something similar has happened with your account/card authorization. Apparently this is a semi-anal thing they're doing at the head ends (to keep operators from providing family/friends with free cable?), where your account has 'slots' and the equipment needs to be in the right 'slots' for it to work right. Don't give up on the S3, the PQ borders on 'stunning' once everything is working!

Funny/ironic that these problems did not seem to happen with the leased STBs and DVRs, just with the Cable Cards...

Let's also thank Comcast for removing NFL Network from the 'standard' digital tier. I'll pay the $5/month when I get NFL-HD all the time, no sooner.

Also, let me apologize for the previous sarcasm, as others are in a hurry when perusing this thread, and skip over the 's.

__________________Hey, if I had some place to go I certainly wouldn't be in 'Cleve-Land'.

See my post #2873, I quoted directly from their site, or read it from their site directly. But the disclaimer shows that YMMV, as it can vary from office to office. You should get one card for free, and the second card in each S3 for a small fee ("up to $1.91").

oldnacl, see my previous post #2831 ...I suspect something similar has happened with your account/card authorization. Apparently this is a semi-anal thing they're doing at the head ends (to keep operators from providing family/friends with free cable?), where your account has 'slots' and the equipment needs to be in the right 'slots' for it to work right. Don't give up on the S3, the PQ borders on 'stunning' once everything is working!

Funny/ironic that these problems did not seem to happen with the leased STBs and DVRs, just with the Cable Cards... .

I appreciate the link - printed it and will show it to the techs (or perhaps just suggest the possibility) when they arrive on Saturday (when they will likely say there's nothing they can do because the CC people are not available on weekends). I DID have other devices on the connection that now supports the TiVo - a CC in the TV itself and a SA8300HD DVR. Pulled them all and replaced with the TiVo - but - didn't have any problem losing channels until the July 1 Price "adjustment".
I wonder if I could buy an analog Tivo, switch my subscription and sell it with the remainder of my subscription to recover some of my investmet - or is the subscription locked to my name? Some mornings you just don't feel like getting out of your box and going out to bite the chain link fence.

Since the $299 is not returnable while you have time to return to Costco, I would suggest pushing the issue with Comcast. I think it is totally unfair what they are doing to you. You might try calling your local TV station's consumer watch and trying to have them help resolve it for you. I just don't see how they can justify charging you the same price when you buy your own equipment vs renting theirs.

- I was originally quoted $23.99 for installation of two cards, I was charged $71.97 and they subtracted $20 for the installer being late, REALLY late.

- I was also quoted no monthly fees, tricky Comcast worked in a $6/mo "Digital Access Fee."

After ten minutes and two different Comcast reps, I have $60 adjusted off of my bill. The rep said the "digital access fee" was for a box I didn't have. Who wants to bet my Tivo has lost connection once I get home??

If you're talking about installation troubles, it's pretty clear that the problems mentioned on this thread are the vocal minority. Well over half of CableCARD installs go off without a hitch, and a decent chunk of the rest encounter only minor problems.

If you're talking about pricing, I'm not sure we're going to see consistency any time soon.

Point well taken. It would probably be a no-brainer for us (we really, really miss TiVo!) if the price of the unit came down a bit more.

I was thinking about how to rationalize the purchase and came up with: "It's only around $600! That means if we drop the $13/month DVR charge we're paying now, it would pay for itself in - um - well - 47 months!"

I think it's one of those things that if/when we decide we want it, we just need to chalk it up as a one-time expense to get TiVo back!

__________________

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Point well taken. It would probably be a no-brainer for us (we really, really miss TiVo!) if the price of the unit came down a bit more.

I was thinking about how to rationalize the purchase and came up with: "It's only around $600! That means if we drop the $13/month DVR charge we're paying now, it would pay for itself in - um - well - 47 months!"

I think it's one of those things that if/when we decide we want it, we just need to chalk it up as a one-time expense to get TiVo back!

That was pretty much my rationalization when I bought the TiVo. I figured the saving (based upon paying the then current CC charges of $2.75 a month each vs the $9.95 STB rental and the $5.00 DVR service fee) would pretty much pay for the TiVo over the very long haul and even if it didn't, the TiVo user friendliness vs the SA8300HD POS would compensate. Now, with the "improved price structure", I'm paying $17.90 / month for the cable cards which puts it close to, if not over, what I was paying to use their equipment - and I have a $600.00 investment and an additional $8.88 monthly program fee from Tivo.
What this has done is put me off TV as a hobby, since I have to fight tooth and nail just to get the darn CCs working. I still have to reconcile my need for an internet provider, but once I figure out something for that Comcast have ALL their service back.

Wow. After reading (most of) this thread, I'm thinking I should put up with the suck-fest that is the Comcast DVR for a while longer until this gets a little more - um - consistent(?)...

I might wait for another rebate (or sale), but I would go through it again. The picture quality on the S3 is at least an order of magnitude BEYOND the Comcast/SA HD boxes. Seriously. I snagged 'Dragonheart' off of UHD last month, and the picture is quite honestly stunning. And several other recordings I have also (to me) demonstrate this improvement, which I note 'Batman Begins' as I had recorded it also on the SA, and the picture is more defined and incredibly better detailed. Also, SD is as good if not slightly better.

Yes, it's worth it.

__________________Hey, if I had some place to go I certainly wouldn't be in 'Cleve-Land'.

That was pretty much my rationalization when I bought the TiVo. I figured the saving (based upon paying the then current CC charges of $2.75 a month each vs the $9.95 STB rental and the $5.00 DVR service fee) would pretty much pay for the TiVo over the very long haul and even if it didn't, the TiVo user friendliness vs the SA8300HD POS would compensate. Now, with the "improved price structure", I'm paying $17.90 / month for the cable cards which puts it close to, if not over, what I was paying to use their equipment - and I have a $600.00 investment and an additional $8.88 monthly program fee from Tivo.
What this has done is put me off TV as a hobby, since I have to fight tooth and nail just to get the darn CCs working. I still have to reconcile my need for an internet provider, but once I figure out something for that Comcast have ALL their service back.

Final disposition. I spoke at length with a CSR at Comcast today. This rep was familiar with the TiVo and seemed competent. He explained that there is no way Comcast will drop the charges for one of the CCs and still provide HD service even though he agreed, personally, that the charge was double what it should be. So on Monday the TiVo goes back to Costco and the CCs go back to Comcast and I return home with either a HD STB or a SA 8300HD DVR at $12.80 a month less than I was paying for CCs, service fees and the TiVo subscription cost. And I have $638.00 back in my bank account. Comcast, for one, certainly has us by the short hairs. Now, since I have 33 months of prepaid TiVo service, is there a "best" place to find a new or used TiVo series 2? I won't be eligible for the TiVo rebates going on as I'll be just switching my existing service. Is there a thread on the forum for buying and selling or can one post a thread saying they are looking for a used TiVo without bending forum rules?

Final disposition. I spoke at length with a CSR at Comcast today. This rep was familiar with the TiVo and seemed competent. He explained that there is no way Comcast will drop the charges for one of the CCs and still provide HD service even though he agreed, personally, that the charge was double what it should be.

I would suggest you send a letter to the corporate offices before wasting your time returning something that you otherwise would like to keep. They're the only ones competent enough to be able to deal with a problem like you're experiencing.

__________________
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After reading the tail end of this thread about Comcast raising CableCard rates, I decided to check to see if I was affected. It turns out that what used to cost $1.50 for the additional CableCard is now $1.79 effective June 1st. That's a 19% increase but not nearly as bad as what oldnacl was told by Comcast CSRs (there is something seriously wrong when they want to charge over $17 for 2 CableCards).

Hi all,
Just wanted to report that I walked into the Comcast store on Aurora (99) and 94th Street in Seattle. I asked for three cable cards and got three cable cards. There was no charge to get the cards and I was also told there is zero monthly recurring charge as well! We'll see what happens when I get my bill.

I haven't called to activate the cards yet - I plan on doing that tomorrow.

Maybe there will at least be one happy customer who can succuessfully pick up, install and activate these cards without needing a technician to come out or shell out any money.

After reading the tail end of this thread about Comcast raising CableCard rates, I decided to check to see if I was affected. It turns out that what used to cost $1.50 for the additional CableCard is now $1.79 effective June 1st. That's a 19% increase but not nearly as bad as what oldnacl was told by Comcast CSRs (there is something seriously wrong when they want to charge over $17 for 2 CableCards).

Just to clarify, the $17.90 total monthly charge for 2 CCs breaks down to $2 each for the cards and $6.95 "HD Service" for each card. That's right off my bill. My neighbor, using a SA8300HD DVR with HD service is charged $13.95 monthly, period (again off the current bill). The CSR merely confirmed the charges were correct for both cable cards and for the SA STB and (I've read this on other Cable company threads) said that while the doubling up of charges may not "seem" fair, they cannot provide HD service to each card without charging the double fee due to the manner in which the billing/authorization works. I believe one or two folks may have persevered and got their rates changed, but at this point, especially with all the trouble getting the darn cards to work properly after their rate change and re-authorizations, taking 2 days off work to be home for the cable guy to call the office to hit the cards, it's no longer worth the effort. Too bad that today is the first day the things have worked right in over a week!

Hi all,
Just wanted to report that I walked into the Comcast store on Aurora (99) and 94th Street in Seattle. I asked for three cable cards and got three cable cards. There was no charge to get the cards and I was also told there is zero monthly recurring charge as well! We'll see what happens when I get my bill.

I haven't called to activate the cards yet - I plan on doing that tomorrow.

Maybe there will at least be one happy customer who can succuessfully pick up, install and activate these cards without needing a technician to come out or shell out any money.

-RM

I love quoting myself J/K.

Just thought I'd provide an update. Spent one hour exactly on the phone with the first agent who took the info from both cards and activated them. CableCard 1 (CC1) was receiving channel info but no picture - I had nothing but a gray screen. CableCard 2 (CC2) worked from the get-go.

Luckily, I was smart enough (thanks to info on this thread) to pick up three cable cards when I went to Comcast yesterday.

I plugged in the third card and the first agent said it wouldn't work because the Host ID was the same. She basically told me to reboot the Tivo and call back when it was done because she had already spent an hour with me.

I did as asked and called back. I had the third CableCard in the Tivo when it rebooted. The agent also said something was wrong because the Host ID was tied to a different card. She said she'd have to send a tech out but then decided to try removing the Host ID from their system first. She then re-entered it with the different Data number and she was able to remotely reset the card. I still wasn't getting any channel data - until about 2 minutes later. She was ready to send out a tech again - but magically my channel info started to appear and then a channel picture did as well :-D Just to confirm I was looking at CC1 and not the already-working CC2, I went back to CC2 to confirm it still worked. Viola!

All in all, about 10 minutes in the store to get the cards and 1hr15mins on the phone to the agents to get them working.

My HD TV arrives tomorrow so I will try the HD channels -- though I am receiving them on my analog TV with no problem.

Good luck to you all.

-RM
PS - both agents knew I was connecting to a Tivo and both had no problems with it. The reason I was on the phone with the first agent so long is because it was her first time configuring CableCards. She flat out asked if it was a Tivo or TV.

Follow up on 3rd attempt. Tech is scheduled to show on Friday from 4-6pm. I take time off from work to be home. Tech never shows. Tech left a voicemail on girlfriends phone saying that since it was a 'same day' call (which is was not, however Comcast only notified him in the morning) that he was unable to pickup cablecards and would not be coming by.

Girlfriend wants to cancel cable. I called and immediately requested a supervisor and said we wanted a credit for the month for all the services we had not been receiving and new cable cards. Soonest possible visit date is Thursday. If this does not work out, we will probably switch to DirecTV or Dish...

Follow up on 4th attempt. Tech pulled a tech #3 and called and said he had no equipment, etc... etc... I sort of lost it on him but calmly explained the situation and how unacceptable it was. He spoke with his manager and allotted 6 cards for his morning route.

5th attempt. After 3+ hours, two cable cards are now working and we are finally able to tune in to all the stuff we pay for, eg. HD channels and everything over channel 100.

HOWEVER, neither card under the host ID screen says it is authorized. Occasionally when surfing the MMI screen pops up. We ARE able to tune all channels. Do i need to have them 'hit' the card again???! I just don't want them to screw something up again or alter our channels since they are finally 'working.'

Follow up on 4th attempt. Tech pulled a tech #3 and called and said he had no equipment, etc... etc... I sort of lost it on him but calmly explained the situation and how unacceptable it was. He spoke with his manager and allotted 6 cards for his morning route.

5th attempt. After 3+ hours, two cable cards are now working and we are finally able to tune in to all the stuff we pay for, eg. HD channels and everything over channel 100.

HOWEVER, neither card under the host ID screen says it is authorized. Occasionally when surfing the MMI screen pops up. We ARE able to tune all channels. Do i need to have them 'hit' the card again???! I just don't want them to screw something up again or alter our channels since they are finally 'working.'

tia

-steve

You're suffering what I did after Comcast changed their rate plan and (apparently) deauthorized installed CCs. I took a couple days off work for multiple service calls and finally got them working when a knowledgable woman at the telephone help line pinged the cards between service calls. Now, with cards working, I'm getting freezes, pixelation and audio drop outs.
I found a series 2 on eBay and if it ever gets shipped, the S3 goes back to Costco. It was fun while it lasted.

Last Straw.
I took the CCs to the local Comcrap office this morning to get the cable box they say in their price sheet is included with the "package" I subscribe to. Woman at the desk said (and gave me a printout) that there is another price change (added since the July 1 price increase - dropped the "package price") and my cable bill will increase an additional $6.90. That, aded to the earlier change, increased my monthly bill from $54 to $84 for exactly the same service. I cancelled my entire account! Now I need to find an internet provider.

Unfortunately about two weeks ago our pay channels (HBO, etc.) ceased working on the S3. No problem I thought... My previous CC experience was fairly positive! While the issue is now officially fixed as of today, the unfortunate fact is I endured two weeks of CSR's and technicians who clearly had no idea WTF they were doing. I won't bore you with all of the details as there are plenty in this thread that mirror my own... But suffice it to say that any positive Comcast CC experiences are purely "luck of the draw."

I have probably spent a minimum of 3 hours on the phone with Comcast, 8 hours waiting for technicians to arrive and 2 hours getting replacement cards from the local office. Almost everyone I dealt with was reasonably polite, but that's not worth much when your problems aren't being solved. I have to say that had all this happened when I was first getting the S3 set up, I might have seriously considered returning it. Unless there's some pending solution to the incompetent CC support at the various cable companies -- TiVo faces a really rough road to wider adoption IMO.

On the flip side, I am happy to report that our S3 has performed flawlessly for the last 10 months -- much like our S2 which is still powering on after nearly 5 years.

When we last left our story, our mild-mannered S3 owner was trying to get Comcast to realize that one of their techs had taken his Comcast DVR **as requested** and they should stop charging for it...

Guess what? Finally, I reached somebody who decided I was right after all, and has credited me the DVR box charge made on my current (July-August) bill.

Oh, and a couple of other things:

First, there is also a credit for the "HDTV Additional Service". At first, I thought that maybe somebody misunderstood me and had turned off my other HDTV service (in addition to my TiVo S3, I have a Comcast (non-DVR) HDTV cable box in another room). However, when I got home, I discovered that both the S3 and the Comcast box still get all of my HD channels. Maybe I got lucky and they got rid of the charge because the non-DVR box is now the "primary" box, although I was under the impression that I had to pay extra for HDTV anyway. Hopefully, they don't decide that "since he's not paying for HDTV, don't send him the HD channels". (Then again, if that does happen, that's nothing a phone call shouldn't be able to fix.)

Second, apparently whoever has my old DVR box is into late-night porn, as my "recent charges" now include "Blazin' Brazilians", "Russian Teen Obsession", and "Devinn Lane Exposed" - all airing starting between 11:45 PM and 12:55 AM on late Wednesday night. (The billing operator says the charges will be removed, but I hesitate to see what's going to be on the bill tomorrow...)

First, there is also a credit for the "HDTV Additional Service". At first, I thought that maybe somebody misunderstood me and had turned off my other HDTV service (in addition to my TiVo S3, I have a Comcast (non-DVR) HDTV cable box in another room).

That should really be an equipment rental charge, not a programming service charge, although some Comcast offices insist on charging that fee for CableCards. In your case, you should have one "HDTV fee" for the HD set top box.

A very nice tech showed up on Tuesday - without cable cards He did hook up my phone. It was a relatively painless process. He wasn't able to explain to me why he didn't have the cable cards - sigh.

Then about a half an hour after he left, my Internet died. It took two phone calls and the rest of the day, but in the end I ended up unhooking my existing cable modem and just used the one in the phone router.

So the phone guy said he would reschedule for Wednesday from 5PM - 8 PM for me. Except no-one showed

So I called, and rescheduled again for Friday night 5 PM - 8 PM. I get a call from the tech confirming the appointment, only to find she didn't have cable cards because the ticket wasn't entered correctly in the computer, and it was after 5 and she wouldn't be able to get any that night

Now keep in mind, each time I talked with someone at Comcast, I had them enter in to the notes on my account that 1) I needed two cable cards 2) they were for a Series three Tivo 3) to please bring some spares.

I'm going out of town for a week - I guess I'll pick it up when I get back. So far Comcast is coming off as very incompetent - I know, what a surprise

Grr.....

__________________
Tivo Roamio and Tivo Mini - woot!
Tivo Premiere - probably to be replaced by another Mini
Series 3 - On the way out the door
Tivo HD - On the way out the door

I took the CCs to the local Comcrap office this morning to get the cable box they say in their price sheet is included with the "package" I subscribe to. Woman at the desk said (and gave me a printout) that there is another price change (added since the July 1 price increase - dropped the "package price") and my cable bill will increase an additional $6.90. That, aded to the earlier change, increased my monthly bill from $54 to $84 for exactly the same service. I cancelled my entire account! Now I need to find an internet provider.

End of story (at least I think so). Installed a DSL modem I got from AT&T yesterday. After a couple rebates it will be 1/3 the cost per month for the first year and 2/3 of what Comcast was charging for Cable internet (I owned the modem) subsequently. I cannot see any difference in page loading speed from cable - I'm on the 1.5mbps plan - one above the bottom in price. I went back to Comcast on Friday and ordered just the cheapest digital package with a HD DVR (SA8300HD, like I had before but with their new remote) and the invoice price is $2 less than my neighbor is paying for the same service. Go figure. The S3 went back to Costco and my eBay purchased TiVo Series 2 dual tuner should arrive on Tuesday. I think I'm in fat city with a working HD DVR, the ability to copy a show to DVD from the DVR and simultaneously watch something else (a MAJOR shortfall IMHO of the S3 design) and a TiVo for the stuff I usually watch on SD, like news, Daily Show etc. And I'm $40 a month ahead! Of course, I'll miss the S3.
It's been nice chatting in this group. Thanks to everyone for their help and comments. See ya in the Series 2 forums.

Comcast is incompetent! Not a big newsflash, I know. I'm having difficulties with my Series 3 cable cards of a nature that I've not seen described elsewhere in this thread.

Here's the summary: starting a month or so ago, I lost my ability to tune premium channels on my Tivo. But wait -- don't stop reading there! I knew this might happen, and from the warning sent by Tivo and from what I learned reading this board I knew it was the copy protection/host ID issue. I called Comcast, the phone person knew nothing, so they dispatched a tech. The tech actually knew about the issue, and was able to fix one of the two CCs. However, he did something to the other one that not only didn't fix the premiums, but disabled all channels on that CC above like 30. He said it was a bad CC but didn't have a replacement. A new tech came out a few days later with a replacement, but after activating it, it did the same thing as the old one, only tuning up to channel 30.

Since then Comcast has become worthless. They keep saying they don't know what's wrong or how to fix it. They keep trying to blame the Tivo. I find it hard to believe that the Tivo would have anything to do with this, somehow they screwed up my account or something on their end. Does anybody out there have any ideas what might have caused this? It seems I have to help Comcast fix things, otherwise they never will. I'm in San Francisco, if that helps anyone's diagnosis...

Comcast is incompetent! Not a big newsflash, I know. I'm having difficulties with my Series 3 cable cards of a nature that I've not seen described elsewhere in this thread.

Here's the summary: starting a month or so ago, I lost my ability to tune premium channels on my Tivo. But wait -- don't stop reading there! I knew this might happen, and from the warning sent by Tivo and from what I learned reading this board I knew it was the copy protection/host ID issue. I called Comcast, the phone person knew nothing, so they dispatched a tech. The tech actually knew about the issue, and was able to fix one of the two CCs. However, he did something to the other one that not only didn't fix the premiums, but disabled all channels on that CC above like 30. He said it was a bad CC but didn't have a replacement. A new tech came out a few days later with a replacement, but after activating it, it did the same thing as the old one, only tuning up to channel 30.

Since then Comcast has become worthless. They keep saying they don't know what's wrong or how to fix it. They keep trying to blame the Tivo. I find it hard to believe that the Tivo would have anything to do with this, somehow they screwed up my account or something on their end. Does anybody out there have any ideas what might have caused this? It seems I have to help Comcast fix things, otherwise they never will. I'm in San Francisco, if that helps anyone's diagnosis...

Many thanks!

-Chad

I had similar problems when I first had Comcast install my cards for S3. The only way I could prove to them that it wasn't the cc, nor the Tivo was by convincing the on-site tech to get one of their DVR's from his truck (he happened to have one with him) and hook it up to the TV. He did, and it had the same missing channels. He then reinstalled the cc's and argued with his telephone support until they finally authorized the account proerly.